U.S. producer price index edges down in August amid lower energy price

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. producer price index (PPI) in August fell 0.1 percent as energy prices dropped further, following a revised 0.4-percent decline in the previous month, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

The PPI, which gauges the prices for final demand products, fell for a second straight month in August after growths of 1 percent in June and 0.8 percent in May, according to the report released by the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The index for final demand goods fell 1.2 percent in August after declining 1.7 percent in July. The August decrease can be traced to a 6.0-percent drop in prices for final demand energy.

On an unadjusted basis, the PPI moved up 8.7 percent for the 12 months ending in August, down from the 9.8 percent for the 12 months ending in July, showed the report.

For the 12 months through August, the core PPI, which excludes food, energy and trade services, rose 5.6 percent, following a 5.8-percent increase in the 12 months through July.

The PPI data was released one day after the Labor Department reported that the country's Consumer Price Index (CPI) in August surged 8.3 percent from a year ago, slightly down from the previous month but still at an elevated level.

The consumer inflation report showed that the so-called core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.6 percent in August following a 0.3-percent rise in the prior month. Core CPI jumped 6.3 percent over the last 12 months, a larger increase than the 5.9-percent increase for the 12 months ending in July.

Jay Bryson, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities, and his colleagues wrote in an analysis Wednesday that they look for the U.S. Federal Reserve to hike interest rates by 75 basis points at its policy meeting next week.

"We expect that (Fed) Chair (Jerome) Powell will stress in his post-meeting press conference that the Fed's fight against inflation remains far from finished," they added.